The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold English Literature Essay

Alice Sebold was born September 6, 1963, in Madison, Wisconsin, ( 4 ) . She was born to an alcoholic, demented female parent, Jane, who was a journalist, and a male parent who was Spanish professor. She was their 2nd kid, and had an older sister, Mary. Her household moved around a twosome of times because of her pa ‘s occupation and publicities: from Madison, Wisconsin to Rockville, Maryland, and so from at that place to Paoli, Pennsylvania. Sebold was a good pupil, but her older sister was the smarter, straight A pupil. Sebold was a originative individual and loved authorship, among other things. She described herself as, “ excessively smart, excessively fat, excessively loud, excessively arty, ( 4 ) . She frequently argued with her parents, and was the jokester of the household. She was proud to state, “ I wanted to be the idiot of the household, because idiots seemed to hold more merriment, more freedom and more personality ( 4 ) . Bing the “ idiot ” was her manner to get by life in the tense family.

Sebold was an alienated, anomic 2nd kid. At a immature age, she suffered through many adversities. When her female parent began to imbibe, and became an alky, her sister, Mary, took attention of her. After a clip, Mary began to be embarrassed of her female parent, and did non desire to be seen with her. Subsequently, she stopped taking attention of her, go forthing Sebold to take attention of her herself, and to maintain everything together. Sebold was the one to compensate- comforting her female parent and reprobating her sister ( Glaug, 1 ) .

After graduating from Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania in 1980, Sebold attended Syracuse University in upstate New York, ( 1 ) . During her first-year twelvemonth in college, at age 18, she was harshly beaten and raped in a hallway that led to a now shut down amphitheater. She so found the adult male subsequently on, and went to tribunal where he was found guilty and given a maximal sentence. Surprisingly, she still decided to go to the same university after the incident, determined to compose out her sorrows and acquire her grade. Sebold struggled in many ways with the colza and the deficiency of support from her parents. She so dropped out and after many events, including working as a waitress and making drugs, such as diacetylmorphine, she decided to compose her first book.

Her first book, a novel called Lucky, was a memoir to her colza as a college fresher. It was called so because a bull told her that she was lucky to hold been able to walk out alive, as a piece earlier, a miss had been killed and dismembered in that same tunnel. Sebold so moved to California and attended a university at that place to go on prosecuting her composing calling. There, she met her hubby, the novelist Glen David Gold. Now a successful author herself, Sebold presently lives in California with her hubby.

Sebold became really successful after her 2nd book. Her first book, Lucky, was a memoir of her colza. Her 2nd book was what hit the top charts. At first called Monsters, this novel was about a 14 twelvemonth old miss named Susie Salmon who is raped, killed, and so dismembered by her neighbour, Mr. Harvey. The narrative is told from her point of position in Eden, and goes through the events that happen after her decease. Subsequently on, the name was changed, and was published as The Lovely Bones. She besides wrote another book, The Almost Moon. Her books were influence by colza and the force she sees in the universe. The 2nd book is besides influenced by her battles with her female parent.

Sebold won the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award for Adult Fiction in 2003, ( 1 ) . In add-on, she achieved the Bram Stoker Award for First Novel in 2002. Sebold was nominated in the Novel class in 2002 as good. The Lovely Bones besides became a # 1 National Bestseller.

Susie Salmon, a 14 twelvemonth old miss, was murdered on December 6, 1973. Susie, a immature funny miss, was walking place through the corn field one dark when she ran into her older neighbour, Mr. Harvey. He leads her into a manmade room under the Earth in the corn field, and at that place he rapes, putting to deaths, and dismembers her. Susie goes to heaven, where Eden is whatever you want and tantrums to your demands and personality. However, she still yearns for her lost life, and is still attached to life on Earth. As a consequence, Susie goes through her “ hereafter ” in her Eden and tickers over her household. She besides learns how the intelligence of her decease spreads and affects her household, those who were near to her, and others around them.

As she watches her household header with her decease in different ways, she besides looks into Mr. Harvey ‘s yesteryear, meets some of his other dead victims, and keeps some checks on him. She watches as her household goes through life through the old ages to come, and besides tickers over Ruth, a friend of hers, and Ray, a male child that she had truly liked. Lindsey copes with her sister ‘s decease, and over the old ages, has a fellow named Samuel, who she finally marries in the terminal. Her small brother does non understand things every bit good, and at first, is angry at her for deceasing and go forthing him at that place with Lindsey to cover with the jobs. However, as he grows older, he learns to accept her decease. Her male parent has a harder clip, with the guilt of non being at that place for her pressed on his shoulders. All he sees is Susie and he can hardly populate with himself. He starts to turn further apart from his married woman. He besides, subsequently on, grows closer to his other two kids, going really protective. Her female parent likely took Susie ‘s decease the hardest. It knocked her down difficult and made her lose her stableness and saneness. She grew further apart from her hubby and her other kids. She besides commits criminal conversation with the investigator in charge of Susie ‘s instance. Later on, she leaves her household and travels across the state, seeking to get away it all. Ray and Ruth become closer, and Ruth subsequently discovers that she can pass on or see the dead. She subsequently lets Susie into her organic structure and Susie and Ray, via Ruth ‘s organic structure, reunite and do love. After her clip is up, she is taken to Heaven. She is eventually able to allow travel of her connexion to the Earth and her decease.

In the terminal, her household became even closer, including her lone life grandma, who was normally excluded. Her female parent comes back every bit good, and everyone, including Ruth and Ray, understand that Susie is genuinely gone and eventually accept her decease. This shows that because Susie was eventually able to break up her connexion to the Earth and accept her decease, she could go forth her Eden to travel to Heaven. Her concluding credence of her decease is what allows her household, friends, and others to eventually allow her travel, retrieve her in memory, and to travel on.

This book was banned due to holding expressed stuff. The book opens up with a 14 twelvemonth old miss who gets raped, murdered, and so dismembered. Though this book deals with hope and healing, it is on a deeper degree, ( 5 ) . Younger kids, like fifth and 6th graders, may non hold reached the adulthood degree needed to read and understand this novel. Young grownups and high school teens, for illustration, will understand it better. Some parents are oppugning whether or non it should be available in in-between school libraries, and other schools have either banned it or moved it into a restricted country for staff members. Parents are worried about how their immature teens will grok the book, and if it will do them depressed, scared, or even scarred. For illustration, a parent of a sixth-grade miss at Coleytown Middle School wanted the book removed from the school library because she believed that the novel was, “ right for an grownup audience, but was non appropriate for a 6th grader ” ( 3 ) .

In add-on, many believe that The Lovely Bones inquiries some facets of faith. For illustration, they believe that the writer ‘s thought of Eden has no God or judgement for those come ining it, ( 5 ) . This raised many inquiries and negative responses to the book, which the writer so replied by stating that that was her manner of seeing things and that everyone interprets things otherwise. The book was besides banned due to maturate subjects, criminal conversation, decease, linguistic communication, and other expressed scenes.

I knew he was traveling to kill me. I did non recognize so that I was an carnal already deceasing.

“ Why do n’t you acquire up? ” Mr. Harvey sad as he rolled to the side and so crouched over me.

His voice was soft, encouraging, a lover ‘s voice on a late forenoon. A suggestion, non a bid.

I could non travel. I could non acquire up.

When I would non – was it merely that, merely that I would non follow his suggestion? – he leaned to the side and felt, over his caput, across the shelf where his razor and shaving pick sat. He brought back a knife. Unsheathed, it smiled at me, swerving up in a smile.

He took the chapeau from my oral cavity.

“ State me you love me, ” he said.

Gently, I did.

The terminal came anyhow.

The Lovely Bones, pgs. 14-15

While Len took her manus and brought her away from the wall into the tangle of pipes where the nose operating expense added its ain chorus, Mr. Harvey began to pack his properties ; my brother met a little miss playing Hula- Hoop n the circle ; my sister and Samuel lay beside each other on her bed, to the full dressed and nervous ; my grandma downed three shootings in the empty dining room. My male parent watched the phoneaˆ¦

aˆ¦ Mr. Harvey left his house for the concluding clip while my female parent was granted her most temporal want. To happen a room access out of her destroyed bosom, in merciful criminal conversation.

The Lovely Bones, pgs. 196-197

The Lovely Bones is a good book that shows you a whole new manner to look at life that truly is n’t just sometimes. However, it is besides a book of hope and healing and shows how a household is lacerate apart and later brought together once more. This novel is deep and better understood by an grownup or older audience.

I understand why it was banned and agree with it. It has many expressed scenes, like the colza, slaying, and dismembering of Susie Salmon, every bit good as her household having the bosom wretching intelligence of her disappearing, and, subsequently on, her decease. The criminal conversation committed by her female parent, the mental instability of her male parent after her decease, and the departure of her female parent may besides non be good understood by a younger audience. This includes some linguistic communication and the sex scenes between Lindsey and Samuel and Susie and Ray, via Ruth ‘s organic structure. Some scenes are a small spot distressing, and others are dejecting, which is why it is non good for younger readers.

However, I believe that The Lovely Bones was a good, and deep novel, and Teachs us all many different lessons. I do non believe it should be banned. Alternatively, it should be marked for an older audience so that readers are cognizant of the mature content it contains. In this manner, people may bask this novel and cognize whether or non it is appropriate for their age degree. For illustration, some people believe that 7th and 8th graders should non be allowed to read The Lovely Bones because of its mature content and deep significances. However, some of these younger readers are mature plenty to understand what is go oning in the book. Though it may be good to censor it from certain schools, others should be able to get and bask this novel.